Major funding boost for UCL-led vaccines hub

The Future Vaccines Manufacturing Hub (VaxHub), led by UCL with the University of Oxford, has been awarded £12m to support its work in delivering essential new vaccines to the frontline. The major funding boost, from UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), will enable VaxHub to continue its work making the UK the global centre for end-to-end vaccine discovery, development and manufacture - leading global preparedness for future pandemics and epidemics. The Hub will widen the expertise and experience it draws on from academia, industry, policymakers and the not-for-profit sector. Co-Director Professor Martina Micheletti (UCL Biochemical Engineering) said: "This funding will allow us to streamline our manufacturing process of next generation vaccines by using new and innovative responsive technologies and digitalisation tools, such as robotics and automation, enabling us to run faster lower volume studies and deliver quicker results. "This will enable us to minimise environmental impact by saving material and sharing resources. The Hub builds on a long-term collaboration between UCL and the University of Oxford, supported by excellent complementary expertise from academic partners and from some existing and new industrial collaborators." VaxHub will continue to drive radical change, using new technologies that can manufacture many different types of vaccine faster and more efficiently. It will also work to create large-scale programmes of non-invasive vaccinations (such as oral vaccines) within the Hub's lifetime.